Door mirror control device

Abstract

A door mirror control device supplies drive voltages to respective lock detection sections in left and right door mirrors. If motors are driven in accordance with the drive voltages, the door mirrors are operated from one of a retracted position or a deployed position toward the other of the retracted position or the deployed position, and the motors stop after the door mirrors reach either the retracted position or the deployed position. Operating time determination sections determine operating times of the door mirrors from changes in values of operating currents. Voltage setting sections change settings for the drive voltages supplied to lock detection circuits of the door mirrors based on the operating times of the left and right door mirrors such that the operating times of the left and right door mirrors match each other.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A door mirror control device comprising:
 voltage supply sections provided so as to each correspond to one of a pair of door mirrors that are provided at the left and right of a vehicle and that each include (i) a motor that is driven by the supply of a voltage and that operates the respective door mirror from one of a retracted position or a deployed position to the other of the retracted position or the deployed position at a speed corresponding to the magnitude of the voltage, and (ii) a lock detection section that supplies to the motor, as the voltage, a voltage of a magnitude corresponding to a drive voltage supplied to the lock detection section and that stops supplying the voltage to the motor in a case in which the respective door mirror has reached the retracted position or the deployed position and the motor has adopted a locked state, each voltage supply section supplying the drive voltage to the respective lock detection section with a magnitude set for the respective door mirror; 
 detection sections that are provided so as to each correspond to one of the pair of door mirrors, and that, from change in a current flowing through the respective lock detection section, detect a time interval from starting the supply of the drive voltage until the respective motor reaches the locked state as an operating time to operate the respective door mirror from one of the retracted position or the deployed position to the other of the retracted position or the deployed position; and 
 a changing section that, based on the respective time intervals detected by the detection sections, changes a magnitude setting of the drive voltage supplied by the voltage supply section to the lock detection section of at least one of the pair of door mirrors such that operating times for the pair of door mirrors to operate from one of the retracted position or the deployed position to the other of the retracted position or the deployed position match each other. 
 
     
     
       2. The door mirror control device of  claim 1 , wherein: the changing section changes the magnitude setting of the drive voltage based on the operating times respectively detected for the pair of door mirrors in cases in which a difference in the detected operating times has exceeded a predetermined threshold value. 
     
     
       3. The door mirror control device of  claim 1 , wherein: with reference to whichever door mirror of the pair of door mirrors has a greater amount of movement from one of the retracted position or the deployed position to the other of the retracted position or the deployed position, the changing section changes the magnitude setting of the drive voltage such that a detected operating time of the other door mirror having the lesser amount of movement matches a detected operating time of the reference door mirror. 
     
     
       4. The door mirror control device of  claim 1 , wherein: with reference to the longer operating time of the operating times respectively detected for the pair of door mirrors, the changing section changes the magnitude setting of the drive voltage supplied to the lock detection section of the other door mirror corresponding to the shorter operating time. 
     
     
       5. The door mirror control device of  claim 1 , wherein: a permissible range is set in advance for the operating times of the pair of door mirrors to operate from one of the retracted position or the deployed position to the other of the retracted position or the deployed position; and in cases in which the operating times respectively detected for the pair of door mirrors are within the permissible range, the detection sections determine that the detected operating times are to be applied to change the magnitude setting of the respective drive voltage. 
     
     
       6. The door mirror control device of  claim 1 , wherein: a standard operating time and a permissible range based on the standard operating time are set for one of the pair of door mirrors; and in cases in which the detected operating time of the door mirror for which the standard operating time has been set is outside the permissible range set based on the standard operating time, the changing section changes the magnitude setting of the drive voltage such that the operating time for this door mirror to operate from one of the retracted position or the deployed position to the other of the retracted position or the deployed position is set to the standard operating time.